Subtle
by UnderdogHero
Summary: Gokudera decides it's time to have a talk with his sister, something he should have done three years ago. Background 5927. For Spring Zephyr.


A/N: Zephyr wanted a 5927 fic, so in exchange for that D18 fic, I have delivered.  
**.**

He couldn't think.

Gokudera continued to hold his drink, grinding his teeth in frustration. No matter how many times he thought about it, no matter how many simulations he ran in his head, he couldn't think of a particularly acceptable – _good_ – outcome for the conversation he was about to have.

If he was completely honest, it's something he's been meaning to talk to his sister about for a while. Three years, in fact, since his second year of middle school. Since he first realized his feelings for his boss were more than just simple admiration.

He vaguely wondered, again, how Bianchi would react to the news.

He knew his sister was an accepting person. When Dino had come clean about his courting Hibari, she had been one of the first to congratulate him – only to follow up with a reminder of what Hibari would do to him if he ever hurt him, intentionally or not. Gokudera felt Hibari didn't need the encouragement, saying "He's nineteen, he can deal with a broken heart or two". Which had been met with a prompt "And Dino can deal with a broken _everything_, right?"

Maybe he was using the wrong example. As far as he knew, Tsuna wasn't nearly as violent as Hibari, and he knew that well. And he was pretty sure Bianchi was teasing Dino, seeing as she wasn't a big fan of his partner in the first place...

The ringing of the bell at the cafe's door startled him out of his thoughts, and he whipped around to see a familiar face walk in – or rather, he didn't see her face. Bianchi had a thick pair of sunglasses on, looking around before her gaze settled on him and she made her way over. He waved meekly.

"It's rare for you to call me out like this." She said with a smile. "Usually I have to go through your boss to get you to so much as call me, but imagine my surprise when you asked to meet up for coffee."

Had he been that distant? Sure when he was younger he preferred to avoid meeting his sister face to face, but since she started _covering_ her face their meetings became more pleasant.

"Uh, well, you know... we're family, right?" He said, hoping to start off strong. Bianchi raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything. He supposed she was waiting for him to continue. "And... um, family... accepts family for who they are..."

In the back of his mind, he knew it was starting to sound more like this was about Bianchi, and not Gokudera himself. Actually, he almost hoped she thought that way too, maybe she'd be relieved it wasn't a problem with _her_, but _him_–

But it wasn't about her. It was about him, and how he would break the news. The news that her brother wasn't who she thought he was, wouldn't get married to a nice girl he'd meet in Italy in ten years, wouldn't be able to give her a niece or nephew–

"Hayato." She started, breaking his train of thought once again. "Is there something you want to tell me?"

Her tone was even, but soft, as if she could tell how delicate a subject this was. Of course she could tell, she was his sister, and he knew she could read him like a book when it mattered.

He bit his lip, thumbs pressing against each other in anxiety. Right. This was his sister. Bianchi cared about him. He knew she would be shocked but in the end she would support him wholeheartedly so all he had to do was _say it_–

"I'm bi."

...

A sudden, stiff silence followed his declaration, giving him enough time to process what he'd just said, face heating up. Maybe it was because of his mental urging, but the words just flew out of his mouth before he could properly articulate them, and...

Well, Bianchi wasn't yelling at him. That was probably a good sign.

Actually, she hadn't said anything at all. Nor had her expression changed.

A few tense seconds later, and the waiter came over with her drink – when did she order? – and she accepted it with a smile.

"And?" She said finally, spooning in a bit of sugar and taking a sip. She was still looking at him expectantly.

He blinked. She rolled her eyes.

"Is that all you want to tell me?" She added, leaning her face against her hand, elbow on the table.

Gokudera opened and closed his mouth a few times, not sure what to say. As much as he'd been reassuring himself that she would be accepting, he didn't think she'd be so... _blasé_ about it.

"Um– Don't you have anything to say?" He stammered, running a hand through his hair. He didn't notice how much he'd been sweating until he felt it under his bangs. Bianchi shrugged.

"Not really. So who is it?"

"What?"

She fixed him with a look that clearly said '_Are you kidding me?_' He swallowed.

"... It's Tenth." He said quietly, lifting his cup to his lips. The coffee was ice cold.

Bianchi hummed, then looked away and waved the waiter over. A moment later, he returned with a pot of coffee and placed it on the table. He left, and she proceeded to pour herself another cup.

"It's about time you came out and said it. It was maddening seeing you dancing around your little crush for the past three years."

He stared at her for a good few second while she prepared her drink again, this time adding less sugar, before everything she said clicked into place.

"Wh- you knew?!" Gokudera hissed, barely stopping himself from slamming his hands on the table. "Why didn't you say anything!"

"Love runs its own course." She said calmly. "Besides, even if I did, what were the chances that you would have listened?"

"That–" Wasn't wrong, really. He loved his sister, but the combination of their complicated past and her own strange relationship with Reborn definitely would have made it hard for him to trust her judgment.

He coughed.

"_Anyway_..." Bianchi gave him a tiny smile from behind her drink, and he couldn't help how his lip twitched downward. "I... don't think its just a crush. Anymore, at least."

"Of course it's not. It's been three years, and if you're still at it, it's full-blown love at that point."

He didn't want to admit to admit to her face-to-face that she was right, he'd done that enough today and it was starting to wear him out.

But... maybe it was time he took her seriously.

"So... what should I do?" He asked, hands folded on the table. "I mean, you probably– _definitely_ know I haven't had much success in... _expressing_ myself."

She nodded at that, cheek pressed against her palm again.

"Yeah, I gotta say, that's the one thing I'm surprised with. It's really saying something that _Hibari_ is engaged before you even thought of coming out to me."

"I thought he said no?"

"Bucking Horse can be very convincing, apparently."

"You mean annoying. Wait, why do you know this?"

He felt a small smile rise to his lips during the conversation, which had managed to deviate from the initial subject to work – how was Chrome doing after her surgery, was Basil adapting to Japan schooling well, what did Yamamoto's team score in the last game – and his stress and anxiety began to fade, reminding him that Bianchi was, as he had been assuring himself the entire morning, _family_, and didn't judge him at all.

Now came the real test.

"You never answered my question." He said, cutting off their current discussion – something about Haru starting her Etsy shop online – and looked his sister in the eye. "What do you think? Should I... do anything at all?"

"No."

"No?"

Honestly, that was not the answer he was expecting. Maybe because of past experience, he thought she would have something grand planned. A swan ride through a dark tunnel, a ferris wheel that conveniently breaks down once they've reached the top, stranded in a log cabin on a stormy night–

Maybe those weren't such romantic ideas after all. If anything they were more likely to scare his boss.

"No, because knowing you, you'll chicken out last second and say something completely unrelated and end up looking like a moron."

Ouch. It was true, but it was still a low blow. Especially coming from his sister.

"But." She added, leaning over to stroke his cheek. "I told you, love runs its course. When the time is right – and you'll know it is – I'm sure you'll be able to say it. I don't know if Tsuna will return your feelings, but I know either way he'll accept them, because romantic or not he loves you just as much."

He felt it then, a burning sensation in the back of his eyes, and he looked down to stare into his forgotten cup of coffee, a smile on his face. He blinked when it was suddenly replaced with an empty one, which was immediately filled.

"You like it black, right?" Bianchi said, and Gokudera let out a tiny, strained laugh. He lifted his cup, and she mirrored him, the edges clinking together.

She was definitely his family.

**.**

A/N: I can't remember the last time I wrote a fic with literally just two characters and it did not occur to me until now that _there were only two characters_. I did it.

On another note, I ended up adding a background detail I only really talked to Zephyr about and some things I had planned for any future KHR fics, so hopefully they were interesting.


End file.
